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It’s late, and I’m not sure how many will be reading this before tomorrow morning – or even before coach Ken Whisenhunt talks again. The winning streak comes to an end with a thud. It didn’t look good when the Rams went right down the field to score to open the game, but then the Cards were able to tread water for a long time. They just couldn’t put it together offensively for any consistent stretch in order to get it in the end zone.

So we get to the topic everyone seems like the want to talk about – the offensive line.

“We got beat,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said. “We got beat on the edge a couple of times. We have to work on technique and our sets and do some things to help those guys out.”

I get there are many out there frustrated. I see on the blog and on Twitter. The reality is the Cards are playing two tackles right now they hadn’t planned on being the starters when training camp opened and there was a reason for that. The reality is if they don’t run the ball better – and yes, I know that is also in part on the offensive line – the opposition is going to have the chance at a field day rushing the quarterback.

There is no realistic option of change on the roster. I don’t see rookie Nate Potter as a possibility right now at left tackle. Do I think the Cards will look elsewhere? Maybe. I’m pretty sure they’ve been paying attention to the waiver wire ever since their injuries struck. They obviously haven’t seen a better option. Again, reality – there’re probably aren’t enough good left tackles out there period, much less when guys start to get hurt. That’s why the Cards wanted to make sure they brought back Levi Brown in the first place.

— The Cards made the pass protection manageable when Kevin Kolb’s pass attempts were in the 20s. The last two weeks he’s thrown almost 100 passes. That’s a ratio that’s tough to manage. That’s why everyone, from Whisenhunt to guard Daryn Colledge to Kolb to Ryan Williams, all brought up the need to run the ball better. Better will eventually translate into more.

— The hit on Williams was scary, but he almost looked confused why everyone thought it was a big deal after the game. “I’m straight,” he insisted, and was acting like he was fine. Which he may be. We’ll see. Obviously to lose him for even one game right now, with Beanie already down and LaRod Stephens-Howling a question, would be a killer.

— Darnell Dockett was active, but he didn’t play a ton and wasn’t a major factor. He’s one of those guys the Cards need to get all the way healthy.

— The Cards had themselves just one sack, snapping their 10-game streak of games with at least two sacks.

— The 40-yard missed field goal by Jay Feely was important not just because it would have made the game 10-6 at the half. It felt like it changed the complexion of the fourth quarter. Do the Cards go for it on fourth-and-goal inside the 10 with five minutes left when a field goal would have made it 17-9 and a one-score game? Probably not.

— Kevin Kolb missed too many receivers in the first half. There were drops definitely, and missed chances because pass catchers didn’t make a play they should have. But obviously Kolb missed on some throws he just can’t – including a bomb to a wide-open Andre Roberts, who had gotten behind the defense.

— That said, this narrative that Kolb is “made of glass” or as Tommy Kelly said in the preseason, “skittish” needs to go away. Kolb was beaten up and bloodied Thursday night and kept getting back up. Question him as a quarterback if you want to – and we all know some of you will – but please spare me the other stuff.

— Given the way these last two Thursday night games have gone – Thanksgiving in Philly in 2008 and tonight – I’m guessing Whisenhunt would love to take a pass on these outings for good if he could.

— If you would have told me Sam Bradford would complete just 7-of-21 throws and the Rams would win – rather easily, even – I’d have said you were dumb. Don’t know if I’ve ever seen a team collect more sacks (nine) than pass completions.

— Rob Housler just trucked a couple of defenders on catch-and-runs tonight. It’ll get lost, but man, you can see the potential there.

— We’ll walk off with a Daryl Washington quote: “It’s a long season. The good thing about the division is you get to see them twice. They have to come to our place.” The Cards are still in first place.

135 Responses
to “Rams aftermath”

Like I said on my other post the two rookie tackles can’t do their jobs and I know they are rookie’s. We could have won this game but the offense is weak and Kolb took so many hits with blooded mouth but he showed everyone that he is not weak or scared. The only thing I wished he did is run the ball if he can’t find anyone open and not wait.

–” Kevin Kolb missed too many receivers in the first half. There were drops definitely, and missed chances because pass catchers didn’t make a play they should have. But obviously Kolb missed on some throws he just can’t – including a bomb to a wide-open Andre Roberts, who had gotten behind the defense.
– That said, this narrative that Kolb is “made of glass” or as Tommy Kelly said in the preseason, “skittish” needs to go away. Kolb was beaten up and bloodied Thursday night and kept getting back up. Question him as a quarterback if you want to – and we all know some of you will – but please spare me the other stuff.”

The above is just odd and not professional, rather it is a defence of poor play and an offense that got 3 points. An off night maybe but making excuses or the ”skittish” resurface is justifiable, the line did not hold and Kolb was mainly in shotgun. The fact there were 9 sacks is not acceptable whoever is responsible. We need a running game and to get the ball out, Kolb was doing a good job of the latter at the start, three or four seconds and out, that changed as the game progressed.

That was tough but our O line will only improve…be patient you guys..i saw a lot of positives from the game. Besides those big plays and the missed FG our D was killer. Kolb did his best and we cant ask for more, Housler is getting so.darn.good. 4-1 and we couldnt ask for more, Kolb will start hitting those passes he missed but Fitz being wide open and Doucet missing the catch killed us. Feely as well killed us. KEEP THE NEGATIVITY OUT OF HERE, LETS BRING GOOD VIBES AND GOOD KARMA TO OUR TEAM.

I saw this game in Denmark (where i live and i was born) from 2 to 5 am in the morning, and i was totally disappointed.

I have been a Cards fan for all of my life, and going into this season, sadly i saw a bad season in the horizon, because of the O-line and the QB situation (although from the beginning he got here, i have believed in Kolb) was just too unstable. I also thought that the defense wouldn’t be able to keep up with the expectations they had because of the end of last season.

Going into training camp, i was thrilled by the secondary and i really thought that we finally would have the “shutdown-corners” and secondary that we have worked for in a long time. I still think that Patrick Peterson is a beast, but sometimes he gets beaten, which means that he still isn’t a “shutdown-corner”, and i think that Toler and Gay could play much better.

When the Cards won the opening game against the Seahawks, i thought that they were better than i predicted them to be. And with the wins in New England and the home game against the Eagles, i was really excited! After the Miami game it got a little worse, i thought that they missed a lot of opportunities even though they won the game, especially the corners didn’t do their job well.

Now with the loss (even though the Rams are a pretty good team), i think that it’s going backwards for the Cards, and i really hope that they will step up and beat the Bills at home.

To everyone that blames Kolb for the loss, blame the O-line, it is tough for every quarterback to focus when he is rushed and hit on almost every play (just remember Vick), and he wasn’t that bad, he had a QB-rating of 72,8, it’s not great, but it’s okay – much better than last year. I still believe in Kolb, and i think that the team has the best chances with Kolb, instead of Skelton.

– This was just some thoughts from a no significant Dane, but i had to get it out.

No Comment about you or Kolb. Lots of time to get it together however. Wiz better figure out a run game soon. I would look too the wire or FA, he always talks about competition, better get someone in here to push these guys because they are either complacent or they suck. Something is wrong.

I don’t want to hear blaming the offensive line on Kolb’s problems. The guy is simply getting paid wayyyyyyy too much money to be that inaccurate when he has time to throw. That one play where Fitz was so wide open for the touchdown and so mad afterwards that Kolb didn’t see him that he stood there with his hands on his hips.. that was a game changer alone. Is Kevin S going to show up on here and tell those of us that said Kolb played average in other games that we are crazy because he had some meaningless 100 and something “qb rating”? Yea that matters tremendously. If anyone saw the pre-game on nfl network that whole staff said they didnt believe in Kolb.. including Warner. Last week he said that one goal line interception was his worst decision ever and wouldnt happen again, yet he damn near did the same exact thing again trying to force a play in the end zone that wasn’t there.

Why do the Cards ALWAYS have to have their meltdowns on national tv?? I’m so deflated after telling so many relatives and friends to watch this game and see how badass the Cards (defensively) are and end up looking like an idiot. You would think i would know better by now. If people want to always complain why the Cardinals are under rated and get no respect in the media blah blah blah, this is exactly why.

I think that was a terrible playcalling in the O side during the second half.

All those 1st and minus3-5yards on the ground, 2 and sakcs, 3 and longs killed us. Kolb is better than he was, but the Oline need the extra help. Especially without running game, becase we don’t have any. However I’m sure we could win this one without the second TD.
Ok. so it’s 4-1. That’s still good. Noone thoughta It’ll be 16-0. Keep on working and win more games! Go Cards!

Darren i know you dont run the team, but you have to agree that the offensive line is a shambles. I also understand the Cards organization could not predict the unfortunate injuries to the line but they should try to address it. 17 sacks in two games is terrible and the two tackles just look way overmatched to be in the NFL. And their run blocking looks just as bad as pass protection. Their just seems to be no push or holes made for the running backs. I also thought Kolb saved the team from several more sacks and played as well as can be expected with that kind of pressure. Please Cards, can you sign Jake Scott who is a free agent and a good pass blocker. They shoud also try to trade for Jeremy Trueblood from the Bucs who has been a solid starter but seems to be in their doghouse lately and had been inactive for games.

Toler is not ready, I said the last half the season which doesn’t mean the 5th game. R. Williams isn’t ready, how many weeks will it take to take the blinders off? W. Powell gets twice as many yards per avg. than Williams on 1 carry. Hello!!!

This was bound to happen eventually. You can’t give up 9 sacks, not run the ball and miss pass plays and expect to win. The problem is that we did the same against Miami. We got exposed a little on defense too. We may have come back at home, but tough to do away. Game plan has to change protection if we have no other options for the line.

With all due respect ( and I mean that ) you got too emotional re. Kolb’s performance or lack thereof. Writing late and tired is reflected in your piece, that said kudos for working late and putting it out, Chris Matthews post Obama did the same.:). No one is questioning Kolb’s toughness post Titans, rather they scored 3 points and at the end of the day he is the QB leader. You started defending ”skittish” without it even being mentioned and then ” spare me the other stuff”, allow people to comment as opposed to preordaining- subtly filtering opinion. When Kelly said it he was being honest as was in the moment and he is the hired assassin dialed in. Dropped passes, line issues but there were throws that for 60 million should be on target when it counts.

Of note in this game was that the defence once again got stretched and burned, Miami film must have caught STL’s eye. Quarterbacks can be tough etc but it is about winning not heroics and ditto the D which is our backbone. We need a running game, better line protection and accurate passes when needed beyond ten yards. In my opinion Miami exposed some cracks and it is out there for other teams, even Peterson returns are contained. This is what goes on in football, other teams catch on to schemes and adjust. I remember when Flutie came back in the league and scrambling was hurting teams, they adjusted and had a D scout on him cutting him off.

I am a Skelton backer but not a Kolb detractor, one just has a stronger arm and delivery and has IMO over time greater upside. Kolb is exposed with slant in passes and short curls he runs out to complete, with no running game it is Bill Walsh’s game without Roger Craig around. The biggest problem was the A gap IMO and there will be adjustments on the line. Moving forward i am cool with seeing how far Kolb can take it, however we are not giving enough sunlight to another that will grow faster and higher ( metaphor gotta luv it ).

Btw you run an excellent site, best in the league and extremely intuitive and informative, feedback and opinion make it great, opinion and moderation is a fine line.

Not sure if you follow Twitter but guess what? These comments on the blog are the only ones being made to me and about this team. For a while, Kolb’s toughness was a topic on Twitter last night and I chose to follow that up on the blog. Being tired had nothing to do what I wrote. You are wrong, some still were questioning his toughness. Again, you can have your opinion, but please, you can refrain from continuing to tell me why mine shouldn’t be made.

As for “not a Kolb detractor” I will go ahead and pull some comments you have made. I understand you are a Skelton backer. But — as long as you are talking politics — you are like a negative political commercial. This is what a Kolb detractor would write: “Dropped passes, line issues but there were throws that for 60 million should be on target when it counts.” That has nothing to do with Skelton. That is the definition of a detractor — which is fine. Not saying you can’t say it. But don’t pretend to be something you are not.

One word describes last night. PATHETIC! This team really should be 1-4 not 4-1. I am a die hard fan and the last 30+ years have been like the cards a cardiac arrest. Whis preaches he wants to run the ball and barely runs it @ all. How many 3 and outs did they not even try to run the ball. Grimm is worthless and should have been gone a long time ago. Fitz, I love him but you need to get in the end zone on 4th and goal not run a 2 yard slant from the 5 yard line. How about adjustments in protection to help the tackles out like other teams make in the NFL. Whis doesn’t seem to make any adjustments @ all and Horton, what is up with the zone d the last couple of weeks? It cost us last week and especially last night. Should have brought the house on that completion to Givens for the second td. I know it is a long season but this team needs to look themselves in the mirror and understand that they had no reason to lose to the Lambs. Frustrated right now and know the potential this team has if it plays up to its capabilities.

At some point Grimm has to be accountable for the O-line. They can run the ball 40 times a game but that won’t make the opposing D respect the run since they won’t get 60 yds doing it. These guys can’t block for run or pass they are horrible and have been for longer than this year. Draft O-linemen and hire a O-line coach.

I think Kolb had a pretty good game. There were some KEY drops that would have kept drives alive. To me, a lot of the blame should be on the coaches, not the O-line. Everybody knows our tackles are having a tough time… except the person who keeps calling empty backfield sets with no help for the tackles!!!!

Defense once again played well enough to keep us in the game. I am not going to let this ruin my weekend.

I will not get into the bashing of the O-line, the arguing over our QB, the complaining of the dropped passes, and I certainly will not be questioning the professionalism of the author of our blogs (that would be crossing the line). I will instead enjoy the four day weekend that lies ahead and all that it entails.

I for one think Darren summed it up pretty well, his analysis on this was fair. I have no issues with how he stated it or what he stated. That being said, like the DANE above said, I just have to get some things out.
Kolb is making me believer. He’s not ELITE, but the guy got the crap beat out of him and kept playing, so he’s tough in my book. He seemed to be the only one on offensive doing anything. Give him some kudos
O-line, well looks like what we thought we’d have we got, a poor one. Too bad that is the common theme year over year. ESPN radio saying Kolb will be hurt before too long and by season end they’ll have their 3rd string qb in there due to this pounding, I think they are right. NO RUN game, at all, we are 1 dimensional. Play calling needs to get more inventive given that, but hell, without an Oline and no run game. we are screwed.
The last 2 games, the coaches/teams we played figured us out. They’ve expoited our weaknesses = Oline, no run game, long bombs.
Really disappointed. I am glad we are 4-1, but I think, in honesty, we are seeing what we thought we’d see when preseason was over. Good DEF, crappy OFF, and a record that will end up around 500.
Can me make Russ Grimm play? Perhaps his HOF ability could help

A couple of times? Your definition of a couple means 30 plus times? Ugh. C’mon Whiz, call it what it was, the tackles got Kolb’s @$$ handed to him. The downfall of this team will rest on the shoulders of two guys who couldn’t block traffic with an overturned semi. .

Darren,
Is there anyone out there at OT that the Cards can go after? Any possible trades?

As I mentioned in the post, I’m sure they continue to look. They had McQuistan for a little while and obviously decided he wasn’t worth keeping around. As for trades, I just don’t see anyone being available that would be worth a good draft pick. Tackles are so hard to come by, I’d think any team trying to trade one wouldn’t think much of them — think as if the Cards were trying to trade Batiste.

you don’t get to NOT DRAFT A TACKLE in the top 3 rounds for years and years and then use the lack of depth in FA as your excuse not to sign one. 17 sacks in two weeks, I don’t care who is back there running the ball or throwing it no one can overcome that, ask David Carr. Warner begged this FO for years to get more depth in the line to no avail. We are 4-1 in spite of this but it won’t last long. This was the “easy” stretch of the schedule this can get real bad real quick. Horton might not be hear at the end of the year but if Grimm is then everything whiz preaches about accountability and competition is MOOT and he will lose this team and fan base really really quick. There is way way too much talent on this roster on both sides of the ball to let it all go to the way side because of this line. Something has to be done you may take a step backwards in talent but sometimes change for the sake of change is the only option you have because what we’re doing right now just isn’t working. GO CARDS!!!

I played some football and have been a fan for over 50 years living in 3 cities. Darren’s summaries immediately after each game are the BEST synopsis of games I have ever read. Take your disappointment out on the team….not our insider jounalist.

Hey Darren–Hope all is cool! Tough one for the Card’s yesterday. I thought they would struggle-those Thursday games are tough especially when you have to travel. Hopefully it can work to their advantage with the extra days off before facing Buffalo next week. They have to somehow get some semblance of a running game. I still think we threw too much being it was only a one score game for a good portion of the contest. Our health at the RB position is an issue right now–we need the Hyphen back to contribute. Defense played well overall–cant give up the big play though.Thought Peterson was active yesterday. Hey overall a good start by the team through the first 5 games. I realistically thought we would be 3-2 at this point- so we have over-achieved in my eyes up til now. Fans have to realize every week is different in the NFL and that you have to have a short memory. Hey Darren- looks like Housler is coming on and improving as a receiver which is a good sign but I know his blocking is still raw. TE’S seemed like they were not in pass protection yesterday. Do you think in the 2nd half we could have used King more in protection to help slow down Chris Longs’s pass rush?????

I thought one of the things that killed the Cards last night was that the Rams many times got pressure with just four rushers. With seven in coverage, Kolb often simply didn’t have anyone open. Yes, the line needs help, but when it’s 5 blocking 4, you have to get the job done without TEs.

Wow. You guys need to relax. It was an embarrassing loss, but that happens. Maybe it even needed to happen. The O-line simply did not have the time to correct the mistakes that were made against Miami. Well, now they have plenty of time. The Cardinals are going to right this ship. They will.

And Kolb? He’s the real deal, man. Anyone who goes after him just doesn’t know what they’re talking about. I haven’t seen a tougher QB since Ben Roethlisberger. And Kolb is half that dudes size!

mr urban i undoubtedly could be wrong, but if the CARDS want to run the ball, they should think about upgrading the center… am i the only person to see this? unfortunately in my eyes i see sendline getting blown up a majority of the time. i know hes a crowd favorite, but enough is enough, he’s just not capable of getting a push against the bigger interior lineman. once again i could be wrong, but what do you think when you focus on watching the center instead of the tackles

I know, be patient, and God knows I am. Almost 50 years worth.
I just don’t know how our O-line can be that bad. Something is missing, somehow, someway.
No one realistically thought we would go undefeated. And I knew we would lay an egg sometime. I really hoped it was last week and we got away with it. Regroup and stay focused, and fans, don’t go crazy.

One thing, PATRICK PETERSEN, QUIT READING THE NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS AND LISTENING TO SPORTSCENTER. YOU ARE NOT THAT DAMN GOOD YET. STUDY THE PLAYBOOK NOT THE PAPER!! YOU ARE STARTING TO LOOK LIKE AN OVER-RATED HOT DOG!!!

Darren: Is it me or can you tell me why the coaches seemed to rarely go to max protection fronts to protect Kolb? I saw Batiste and Massie out there alone going one on one all night with no help and getting embarrased!

@123funky. nice to know that there are cardinals fans outside of north america. and you are a knowledgeable fan too, in my opinion. my wife and i were in copenhagen in may 2011. wonderful city, we had a great time. the rams have a good defense but i still think we could have won the game. the missed field goal hurt as did floyd’s drop and a couple of missed throws. and i also recall that fitz was wide open on a short post route that would have been an easy touchdown except that kolb threw to someone else. and when it was third and goal from the four yard line i was really thinking a quarterback draw play may have worked. then it was fourth down and that one yard pass to fitz had no chance. i did not understand that at all. williams did not have big numbers but at least he seemed to be running hard and cutting well so he must be trusting his knee again. powell did not get many touches but i thought he made a couple of nice moves after catching a short pass. our guys get a bit of rest now and the guys who are a bit banged up will get a chance to heal. our next game against buffalo is a big one. we cannot afford to lose and slip to 4-2. let’s keep it going. and sarah, what are you talking about? that’s just strange. keep up the good work, darren.

Thank you. I wondered the same thing. There is nothing about what you wrote that appears to be unprofessional. You just called it like it was. The O-Line needs vast improvement. But there aren’t many options out there, so Whiz is working with what he has. What else is there to do? As for Kolb…I agree 100%. Nobody can call him skittish, or unable to take a hit. He kept getting back up and did what he could to be productive. But, the Rams that were out on the field last night were not the Rams of years past. They have some play-makers on that defense that made our O-line look like a J.V. squad.

Everything you listed as part of last nights disappointment was on point. Clearly all areas which require attention. The Cardinal’s just didn’t get their rhythm last night. Maybe because it was a short week. Ultimately, there is a reason why they wear a NFL jersey, so a short week isn’t an excuse. I am a huge fan and am just as disappointed as anyone else. But Sarah’s comments are not just as it relates to you and your professionalism…maybe misplaced disappointment perhaps.

Be that as it may, I hope that this loss will mean the Card’s will regain their focus. That O-Line is going to have to dig deep and bring something better…there isn’t a QB in the league that can withstand 8 – 9 sacks a game and be highly productive.

I am looking forward to the Atlanta game…it is the one time I am able to see my boys play in person. Good or bad…I just love my Arizona Cardinal’s!!!

RE:OL, Kolb, Defense
OL:
Not hard for everyone to see the O-line stunk. Actually they haven’t been good much of the season but the Cards have been able to hide it because they were not coming from behind the first 3 games.

I do think Grimm is on the hot seat. No running game and poor Oline play is a pattern for many seasons. I know we do not have talent at OT but we also are getting beat up the middle in pass and run. Sendlein seems to be the only solid one and he is getting a B-grade at best. Seattle and the Rams have a patchwork Oline and Lynch still rips it up and the Rans only gave up 1 sack to us. We need more talent on Oline for sure but you have to start to wonder if maybe part of the problem is in scounting or in coaching. Where others seem to be getting by year after year we always seem not too.

Now I realize we are 4-1 so it is important for us all to remember the sky is not falling but this division and this league is so tight that any team could go 6-0 or 0-6 and the Cards need to figure out an answer.

Kolb:
He missed some throws, made some bad reads, dodged some INTs. But he was picking himself up off the ground every play. Despite all of that he had a solid game. Missed Larry on the double move and Roberts over the top but he won me over. I am willing to give him some slack. 28/50 for 289 with no INT but no TD is not impressive but it is not bad given what he went through. With the defense playing as well as they have that normally would have won the game.

Defense:
The two big plays can’t happen but even with them the Rams only scored 17 points. I will take that every week. Despite the OL woes the Offense gained more yards that the Rams. If we would have hit Fitz or Roberts and if Feeley would have hit the field goal we would have won and we would have been discussing how the defense did it again. (But that is the NFL, the game usually hinges on a few plays and if you don’t make them, you usually don’t get another chance.)

I almost got on the Russ Grimm bandwagon after the first three games, on the fourth I decided just to let it go by. He has to go, He has never produced a good line since he has been here. is this year his fault? obviously we have been struck by the injury bug but if this team is to have accountability then hold the guy accountable. Is there anyone out there that is better? that is a question for the GM, but if he isn’t at least casually making inquiries he is failing at his job as well.

This team completely failed to make adjustments. if your qb is on his butt every play, you need shorter passes. They were jumping our plays they had a key and were using it. this again is a coaching issue.

This was a winnable game and we lost it, good teams don’t lose like this, Kolb was looking like Derek Anderson out there with some of those throws. I get that you cant make every play, and that when you are being crushed from the blindside every play you start to get skittish but come on he missed touchdowns last week his misfires hurt but didnt cost us the game, this week they destroyed us.

Ryan williams being out of the game won’t hurt our running game at all, the guy has done nothing. yup there are flashes but that is all they are, flashes of potential, he has yet to play like a guy that should be in the league.

That first catch by amendola was amazing there is no defending that, but patrick peterson was out of position on a few plays, he is still a liability on defense.

I know i should be more positive, but I hate watching people lose that should be winning. I can take a loss from a team giving it everything it has against a better opponent but to lose to a team on plays were the defense appeared to quit and the coaches dont adjust to the reality that they cant protect their qb is just disgusting. five yard passes guys, passes over the line of scrimmage.

I think Kolb took a step forward this game. He did much better stepping up in the pocket. The problem is Ryan Williams, he is fast but plays slow. Why? Anyone with major injury knows the answer…he is tentative. I feel bad for the guy.

Darren,
It’s very clear Sarah’s credentials include years of watching football from her couch.
I agree with her though. Your “professional” opinion is wrong. The reason we lost today was because all of us in AZ did not hold our beer labels out… THIS CANNOT HAPPEN IN AMERICA!
Trust me, I have years of experience talking out of my… butt.

Darren,
Thank you for sticking up for Kolb. I have been a fan of Skelton from his very first pre-season game as a rookie. I have always had my doubts about Kolb but he has really impressed me the last couple of weeks. Aside from the 17 sacks in less than a weeks time, he was hit consistently after nearly every pass. He still got back up and stood strong, that really showed me something.

Sarah-you are an idiot!

Oscar-
I couldn’t agree more. One bad game does not define a season, nor does it negate what we’ve accomplished so far this season. The media will have a field day with this, calling us “posers” and saying we aren’t for real, just got lucky, etc. Fact is, if 2-3 plays on each side of the ball go differently than we destroy them. So all you bandwagoners please hold off on the doomsday seasons over talk. We will still be competing for the NFC West crown, I have no doubt!!

I think this one will really give you an idea of the fans who know something about the game, and those who just blame the offensive figurehead (see Kolb).

The tackles are horrible. Kolb made a couple plays with his feet to escape the pocket and did a good job keeping his eyes down-field. He missed a couple of good opportunities, but he’s not Joe Montana. I thought he managed the game pretty well considering he was getting absolutely killed out there.

When you can pass blitz and run blitz all at the same time….what can you do? The offensive line was ineffective at everything they did last night. There was no blocking scheme or really any cohesive plan to handle the pass rush the last 2 weeks… I put that on Grimm and Wiz, and that has to be professionally embarrassing for them. Grimm should have paid Carolina to take their head coaching spot when he was interviewed, because if he gets any interviews based on his actual coaching ability I’m not sure he’ll even be an O-Line coach in this league anywhere else.

Something needs to change whether it’s the way Grimm coaches, Grimm himself, the offensive line personnel, the offensive play calling to get the ball out faster, Scheme and putting more personal for blocking. Our coaches need to bunker down in a room and not leave till they get these issues hammered out. Our running backs and quarter backs will not survive the season if this continues. If they get the O line figured out we are going to be a hard team to beat. Let’s whoop up on the Bills next week, Go Cards!!!

Please, let’s not forget that Kolb is not viewing the entire field before the snap (pre-snap reads) and after the snap. You can see him staring down the primary receiver and completely ignoring the receivers on the other side of the field. Anyone who taped the game can verify this. What’s the big deal? Kolb missed many wide open receivers including Fitz who was wide open multiple times and could have scored a couple of TD as he was that wide open. That’s why, as I hear, that it is no wonder Fitz wants Skelton or even Lindley in the lineup. With Kolb, those WCO tendencies (to get the passes out quickly) work well when the primary receiver is open and everyone is running short routes. BUT the offense loses out when the pre-snap QB reads indicate that a receiver like Fitz is going to get single coverage or the post-snap look shows the receiver running a verticle route is going to break free BUT is on the other side of the field instead of the side Kolb is staring down. An NFL starting QB is expected NOT to miss those opportunities, but you expect a journeyman backup QB to.

Top to bottom a disappointing outing!! Am glad Williams, and Kolb weren’t seriously hurt, they both took some nasty hits! When Williams broke for that run I jumped to my feet! then he got hit and bounced about 6ft, I thought NO not again!!

It would of been nice to get a division win on the road! At least we have a extended week, to get fit, and tweak some things on the O Line! Besides having Sherman in more, like last night to help out ,not sure what else can be tweaked!

Loved to see Housler getting some more targets, and breaking some tackles for extra yards, if he could of snagged some of them balls, that could be the difference we need!

I believe some consideration needs to be made by the coaches to move Snyder out to tackle, Ohrnberger to guard and Batiste to the bench. The offensive lineman on the roster is all the Cardinals have to work with this year. I had hopes for Batiste but he has regressed the last two games and I worry about the health of the QBs. Something needs to be done to stabilize the line and this is all I can think of based on what the Cardinals have to work with. Coach Grimm needs to show his ability to get his men prepared because this is a reflection on him. If the line play does not show improvement, then there needs to be serious consideration about a change in offensive line coach at the end of the year. We can see what a differance the right coach can make. Ray Horton has improved the defence with most of the same players that was here prior to his arrival. I believe the Cardinals need better lineman but coaching is a factor.

Sarah has consumed a lot of sour grapes. Don’t take it personally Darren, she knows not of what she speaks. You are money:

““We got beat on the edge a couple of times. We have to work on technique and our sets and do some things to help those guys out.” Coach Whiz.

A couple times?? Oh My God!!! Guess what? Our play callers were slow to change to the screens and short stuff, and almost got Kolb killed. They did the same in preseason. … and almost got Kolb killed and then blamed the poor attack on him. It has always been the admittedly inexperienced and unprepared tackles. We KNEW they would get beat.. so we MUST change the attack to account for it. we can’t take 8 sacks in consecutive games and let Kolb get hit on 53 of 58 drop backs per the graphic showed on NFL Network.

8 sacks in one game is a bad game, in consecutive games is bad coaching, denial of the problem and reflects a serious fault in the coaching staff. Whiz has got to adapt… sooner, faster, be more nimble and be “better prepared” to adjust faster or he’ll get kolb or Skelton hurt.

Yes, there were many other issues, like the lack of takeaways by our D, the 2 big plays, a few missed passes, the several drops (every receiver had at least one by my count)… but they were better prepared, they knew our wide screen and often almost pick 6’d it, they were better prepared and we did not adjust. We have to be able to trap them on running plays, inept guards and poor coaching and preparation. See Dan Williams get trapped on the run and then pancaked by the fullback? Why don’t we do that better???

Tough loss but I, for one, am now a Kevin Kolb fan. Say what you want about missed throws or whatever, you go try to make a throw when you’re getting pummeled every play. The O-line is not getting better, they need help. I feel the loss falls solely on the play calling, if you are not going to have extra protection then it’s just a free play for the defense. Pass plays on 3rd&1 again on 4&1 on the last drive were stupid, I know the clock was running but geez, have Kolb sneak it for the first and then try to find the end zone.

Much more I could say but, I gotta go get a new #4 jersey. Rest well guys, the best thing about Thursday games is the long rest after.

I’m extremely disappointed in the outcome of this game. I’ve only watched the first half (had to be a fencing coach last night and couldn’t stay awake for more than one half so I’ll continue the pain tonight.)

As everyone knows, I’m a dreamer and an optimist and really did expect a win last night. I saw much that I liked as well as much that I didn’t. As well as being a dreamer, I like people. That’s why I asked the other day from our fellow blogging friends why they became Cardinals fans.

As someone who likes people and my fellow blogging friends and your here so your one of my friends, I’d like to ask a few things. Answer, don’t answer, tell me to take a flying leap (I’ve always wanted to hang-glide, this last option would give me the excuse), I’ll respect your choice; I just really want to understand.

I’m trying to figure you out. I cannot recall you ever saying anything about this team you like. Do you like this team? If you do, what do you like about it? Why are you a fan of this team over all others? Have you just gotten in a rut? (If so, I’ll extend a hand to help you out of it.) What strengths do you see on our team and lastly, if we win the Super Bowl with our current coaches and Kevin Kolb at the helm, would you finally be satisfied or will you still complain about his performance, can Kevin ever win any praise from you?
The impression you have given me (and I ask the above questions because my impression could be wrong, if it is tell me) is that you just hate Kevin Kolb and anything associated with him (coaches, o-line, a certain writer of this blog that I’ll keep anonymous).

You may have made statements to the positive, you may not, but given the incessant anti-Kolb speech I consistently hear (and it sounds like you’d like Kevin to be as consistent in his play as your rants about his play) I can’t remember anything positive and I’m beginning to believe you don’t like the Cardinals, which is fine, a lot of people don’t, but you’re here so I think you do like the Cardinals which would explain your frustration when they lose, but you express frustration even when they win and I don’t understand this.

Please, I’m just wondering what you like about my Cardinals; a team I’ve followed for over three decades regardless of who was there QB. I understand frustration, I also understand if everyone who’s trying and failing were to be held to the standards some want to hold Kevin Kolb to, the employment rate would hovering at 8% instead of the unemployment rate. We’d all have been fired long ago. If I want someone to live with my faults, I’ll be willing to live with theirs. (Although, we should both want each other to be the best, we can still support each other when we’re not at our best.)

If you’d be so kind, show us more of who you are than just sounding bitter. I ask, as one fan and friend to another, please give me a reason to continue reading your posts.

Perhaps we’ve drank the bitter Kol-Aid of the pundits and mistakenly believe what they say about our QB abd team (although, giving up 17 sacks in two games is not helping our cause, we just need to continue the 4-1 and get to 8-2 and then 12-3 and beyond.)

Maybe, just like I missed a positive from Sarah, we’re missing the positives on our team. Again Sarah, I apologize for missing that. So, why are yyou a fan and what do you like about the team?

Ouch this one is hard to swallow only because its a division game. But in a way maybe it was a blessing in distgise to have lost this game now our guys dont have that added pressure of keep a perfect record alive and now they can just go out there and play without any false expectations. I just hope our players and coaches can come up with a plan to bounce back and continue to improve and win games.

WE KNOW AND THEY KNOW WHATS WRONG WITH THE OLINE NOW FIND A SOLUTION. AND SOONER RATHER THAN LATER…

Darren I know maybe this has been asked before but given the circumstances any chance Whiz would consider bringing back Hightower to help with the run game.. he knows our system and could make a quick impact??

Not sure if Tim is healthy after ACL injury last year, and even then, not sure that would be considered anyway. But if Williams is indeed hurting, they’d have to look somewhere and Hightower makes some sense.

I’m really proud of being a Cardinals fan, a team who are compassionate toward their fellow athletes. When the Rams player was layed out unconscious in the first half, several Cardinals players gathered around in support and prayer. Later, in the second half, when Ryan Williams was layed out unconscious, I didn’t see a single Rams player showing their concern, and some were celebrating.

A little smaller than the Gronk, but a lot faster. I feel like he could be used to create some serious mismatches- and yes, he flattened a few defenders during last night’s game. Hopefully we will see him develop further- got to be able to get the ball to him!

Kolb didn’t play well — as Darren says, some open receivers missed. But the receivers didn’t play that well either (come on Floyd, a drop, and later an offensive PI at a critical time), the O-line didn’t play well… let’s not try to turn every game into a referendum on Kolb. Of course the run game was a disappointment. It just seems very predictable… there are plays where I told my 10-year-old son as our team got set and Seattle stacked the box, we’re going to run and lose 2 yards. My biggest complaint about the O, though, is that I didn’t see a lot of urgency down 14 points. I mean, I realize it takes some time to get down the field after, say, a 10-yard completion, but look at the time between the plays on our first drive after that TD that put the Rams up 14. We commit a penalty at 10:48. Then 31 more seconds tick off, and another penalty at 10:17. Then they restart the clock and we run a play at 9:46 (so we’ve lost a full minute without even a play counting), 8:59, 8:24, 7:54, 7:06… it’s around 40 seconds between every play. Finally an incompletion so that only takes 5 sec. and stops the clock at 7:01, but then after a 6-yard pass to Sherman we huddle up and take 40 more seconds to run a play (the play where Floyd commits interference). Then after the interference backed up to our 13, the clock is stopped, we run a play at 6:16, and it’s 5:25 before the clock stops after the next play (the completion to Fitz short of the end zone). 6 1/2 minute drive, zero points. Every play I see the play clock running down to 4-5 seconds and I’m thinking, come on, we’re down 14 points… (And, as Darren pointed out, I’m also thinking at that point how huge the earlier Feely miss was.)

The defense, well, you can’t argue too much with a D that only gives up 242 yards and 12 first downs, but for whatever reason (and this seems like a Cards fan’s nightmare for years) we always seem vulnerable to big plays. 3rd and long and a 51 yard TD… and of course the opening drive. Also, on that drive early in the third quarter when the Rams ran for 7 straight plays, none less than 4 yards, it seems like we had no answer. I would’ve run it again but fortunately on 2nd and 6 they tried to pass even though Bradford was having trouble completing anything, threw an incompletion, and then that set up the 3rd-and-6 where PP got the INT. If they run there for two more downs I’m not confident we could’ve stopped them from getting 6 yards. The very next drive, they start with an incompletion, and then run again… 16 yards, 5 yards… then we stuff Richardson for a loss, but they get another first down and then Jackson goes for 12, 8… the penalty was the only thing that looked like it was going to stop them (but then that’s the 3rd and 11 where Toler got bumed for a TD). So I dunno, the D looked more vulnerable to me in this game than in any other game, despite the end-of-game totals looking good.

Hopefully this is just a mulligan. It happens (see SF against MIN), which is not an excuse, but the fact is the Rams are improved and this figured to be a tough intradivisional road game. Important to bounce back and win the next one at home… maybe our O can find it against a D letting up over 400 YPG.

“Which he may be. We’ll see. Obviously to lose him for even one game right now, with Beanie already down and LaRod Stephens-Howling a question, would be a killer.”
I do disagree with that one. He hasn’t done one thing other than mop-up in the Philly game. As I said a couple times before, he runs with his head down and to hard for his skill set. He needs to be a complement to Wells or a power runner.
I still think his knee is on his mind, Why does he slip so much, Could it be that he is a mid talented scat back? I hope he is ok, he did take a little nap on the field.

@Sarah!!!!! Really Really? this is a Blog! and Darren’s “BLOG” at that! that means his opinions, what ever they are are in “HIS” BLOG!!!! That is what makes it a blog! We (my self included) attacked Kolb’s Resolve repeatedly over the off season and in preseason! Get a clue! His front main site articles are non bias at the least! This is his blog!

@Darren,
This is a shocker I know, but I did invite a Rams fan out side last night when he called Kolb A PU$$ after that hit in the end zone, I told him that Kolb was bleeding “CARDINAL RED” and I can show him how one can bleed RAM blue!
Kolb is now My GUY!!! That dude showed some moxy, guts & flat out desire! (all one can ask from his QB) I do think the hits messed him up a little, his passes slowly got further off by end of game!

I watched the NFL total access last night and they really questioned the play calling, and I mean to say really questioned it. They also took beef with the O-line but not the players, the scheme and the protection calls!
Earley, cant catch a big game ball to save his life the past 2 years!
That back shoulder throw to Housler needs to be caught!
Fitz no matter how many think he is the second cumming needs to put his shoulder down and get the hard yards when there is a open field and 2 defenders to beat!

Im really curious about the Play to Fitz on 4th and Goal, that play was not blown rout, even the Total Access crew said it was to Fitz and the rout was not blown. The play was designed that way. On 4th and goal throw it 5 yards short? why didn’t we take 4 shots in the end zone? Missing B. Wells yet? (that one was for all of you “cut Wells” fans).

Well That’s not all I got, but decided to be constructive instead of rant! (your welcome Darren hahaha JK)

I thought Kolb played good when he had time to throw the ball. We really gotta get this offensive line fixed. That and the running game are the only things holding us back as we have a great defense and special teams. I really thought Peterson was gonna take one of those punts to the house. Good to see him back on track. Defense played pretty good with the exception of the first drive. I have to give some credit to Kolb, he kept getting knocked down but he got up every time. I don’t think you can question his toughness anymore. I think he has one the starting job back. Even with the tough loss, I think 4-1 is a great start for the Cards. We just need some guys to get some rest and get healthy for Buffalo. Go Cards!

Kolb needs to learn to audible when there is a run play against a seven man front. He also needs to be more accurate on the deep ball, but overall I am happy with his improved play. Housler looks like he could be a beast TE. The cards are paying the price for not using a high draft pick to address the OL the past five years. And where is Justin Bethel? He looks lost after a fine pre-season.

If the problems with the OL and RB are not significantly improved over the season, I can’t see the Cards winning more than nine games.

@ John C,
You need to learn football! Or watch it way more! You’r QB cant see the whole field every play and Ducett dropped a pass that hit him in the “Bread Basket” when Fitz was wide so if Dusett was the “hot” WR on the play and Kolb hit him in the Hands what did Kolb do wrong? Housler dropped a great back shoulder pass (big yards), Floyd dropped a great pass so did Roberts and even Fitz.
On that pass to Floyd in the end zone Floyd was open and didn’t sit on his rout, you always come back to the QB you don’t do what Floyd did!!!!! You might not like Kolb and that’s fine, but let me chase you around the field and hit you with a Bat 9 out of the 50 times you throw and see if you are accurate? (don’t forget I’m punching you in the face on the other 41 plays) Oh don’t forget just 4 days ago I hit you 8 times with that bat and punched you 20 more times, Would you have the composure to pull it out and get the W!!!!!! Like Kolb did?

We cant run the ball so the D can Tee off on our QB what do you expect? I 4 sure didnt expect Kolb to help us be 4-0 going in to this game with NO….and I mean NO run game!!!!

Here’s the bottom line on Kolb….
This team would NOT be 4-1 without him. He is a talented qb. (YOU do not win nfc player of the week in 3 of your first 7 starts if you aren’t.) He’s only played 20 games…if you go and look at the qb rating (the way qb’s are graded like it or not) he has a better one than many of the stars in the league thru their first 20. (To long to post here but I did look it up). HE is a tough kid…putting up with this b.s from the fans proves it…staying in there thru that nonsense last night proves it. You put Rodgers,Manning,Rivers,Brady behind this oline and with no running game…and outside of fitz a very average skill set at wr/te….they would struggle the same…IF NOT MORE. Get off this kid and let him develop…if the oline doesn’t get him killed first. He’s the best chance this team has at finding a franchise qb….Those calling for Skelton are clueless..and those…like Marshall Faulk last night, that rip him no matter what he does, still dislike him for Running Mcnabb out of Philly (for some it’s a racial thing) Faulk was so obvious last night you would have thought Kolb stole his teleprompter on him or something…Give real reason’s why you don’t like him…give truthful ones…spare us the not tough garbage because that’s wrong. He is tough mentally and physically. I don’t love the guy…but, he has more talent than most qb’s in this league and has no help other than fitz. AND….he has this team at 4-1 which is unreal..considering it’s offensive shortcomings. He doesn’t deserve this.

Kolb will be more than fine if the Cards get him some help. He has lead a terrible offense to enough production to have this team at 4-1. He came in during pressure situations and won the Seahawk and Dolphin games. The kid has made some mistakes but, like the announcer last night said he’s really only a second year player game experience wise. The guy did make some mistakes but he made some big time throws as well. Skelton can compete with Kolb when Kolb is healthy and has time to throw. If Kolb didn’t come in that Seahawk game I contend this team would be anywhere from 0-5 to 2-3. Let’s get off one of the bright spots this organization has. I don’t get all this hatred for the guy.

GOOD: The courage that Kolb showed during the whole game as he continued to be pummeled, LB play.

BAD: The OL, Peterson continually standing 15 yards in front of where the Rams’ punts would land, Floyd dropping passes, Horton’s defensive scheme when the Rams runs shredded his defense in the 3rd and 4th quarters, Peterson’s and Toler’s pass coverage, Kolb missing receivers when he could have had TDs or large gains, Feel’s missed FG,

UGLY: The abysmal OL play

COMMENTS:
• For those of you who have had a slobbering love affair with Granes’ “great job” of assembling a roster that is “loaded with talent”, think back to the number of sacks that the OL has allowed and the poor running game that the Cards have had this season. Many of the posters warned during the draft, FA signing period, Training Camp, Preseason and the beginning of the season that the weak OL could have a significantly negative effect on the results of the season. Did Graves do anything to remedy that? HXXX, NO!!!
The Color/Analyst on the NFL Network even praised the Rams line, saying that they were “bunch of journeymen”

• For all of the fans who dote on Skelton, I can only wish that Whiz had started him against the Rams. I’m sure that those fans would say that Skelton would have won the game for the Cards. LMFAO

• With apologies to Dyno, it is very difficult to see how the Cards can go to 19-0 now. Maybe 9-7 (with a lot of luck thanks to the terrible OL).

Anyone who calls somebody an idiot should be chastised for being an idiot. Before last nites game I looked at the schedule , saw 2 wins 4 losses and 6 games that I think are coin tosses. I thought Rams, Vikings, and Bills were probable wins before season started but since they are all playing better than expected I think they are coin tosses now. Best case scenario I see is Cards finishing 9-7. Can that make the playoffs? Also last year when Kolb was the starter and got hurt, how many games did Skelton win until Kolb came back? And since Kolb didn’t lose the starting job to injury, why isn’t that being considered for our starter Skelton?

OL is a dumpster-fire. Fire Grimm. Fire the OC. AND DRAFT SOME FIRST ROUND TALENT. Snyder needs to go. How many times does it take Massie getting beat around the edge before he can stop the speed rush? SMH. Complete TRASH!!!!

Kolb wasn’t good in this game. Our offensive wasn’t good, period. I’m not going to try to act like Kolb played great but calling his play “average” in the PHI game when he was 17-24 with no INT’s and 2 TD’s and basically we didn’t need to do anything in the 2nd half other than control the ball was as ridiculous as if I tried to come on here and say he was awesome yesterday.

If you want to believe that Skelton would have done terrific and thrown 3 TD’s and we would’ve won that game despite the shoddy O-line and no running game, go ahead and believe it… unfortunately we don’t get to replay the game.

Rufus, thank you. I thought the same thing — we need to adjust our play when the other team is stacked against the run. EVERY time that happens and we run it smack into the line we lose a couple yards.

As a point of comparison, Sam Bradford was 7 for 21 last night, missed many open receivers (despite much better pass protection than Kolb and only being sacked once), and threw up a ball into the end zone that PP picked off that should never have been thrown. The week before he was 16-30, 221 yards, no TD’s, 1 INT and the week before that he was 18-35, 152 yards, no TD’s, 2 INT’s. This is from a guy who was a #1 OA pick and, while still young, has much more NFL game experience than Kolb. Somehow I don’t think fans on Rams blogs are calling for his head.

Put Docket and Campbell in as our tackles. I’d bet College and Snyder would love to line up next to them.

This along with 5 wideouts/TE’s would be a game changer.

With due respect, Batiste and Massie haven’t had much experience at tackle at NFL speed. Look at the perormace and protection they gave in the first three games, they were the best. The last two, well, last.

They’ll improve.

What always impressed me about Kurt Warner is, according to Fitzgerald, he looked at the deffense in front of him and if he needed to, changed the play at the line of scrimage. Very few QB’s do that and that is one mark of an elite QB.

Is that something that Miller could teach them? Are they already doing this? I saw Larry with one on one coverage that was identifiable at the line of scrimage to the announcers, should the play have changed? I don’t know, but I trust if we can see this, our coaches and players should as well.

I don’t see the cards going for if there offensive line doesn’t get fixed. Which i have been saying since levi brown got hurt and we kicked jeremy bridges off the team… Forgive me Darren, but I am pretty sure you were the one said that the giants didn’t have a good offensive line last year and won the super bowl. The only reason why that did happen though is because the giants had Eli Manning. Top 5 quarterback in the league in my book. We have Kevin Kolb. He’s no Eli Manning. Kevin’s our guy. We need the offensive line to protect much better. Yes Kevin missed some throws. However, he did the same thing happened in the first three games. But he made the enough plays to win the game when the offensive line held up. Is this going to happen every time we face a team with a good pass rush? I am disgusted. The offensive line is to inconsistent for me. Somebody please whisper in GM rod graves year that these 2 tackles are both not working out. Something has to be done. Make a trade and get someone in here that can actually do the job. I have extremely afraid to face the bills next sunday. Their defensive line is good. They have yet to have a coming out party. they could be licking their chops ready to pick on are 2 tackles. I like Kevin Kolb. I hate the offensive line. Cardinals won’t go anywhere past the first round of the playoffs if something isn’t done.

I am going to take the high road here but suffice to say you have become bias and you moderate this forum. Kolb as a Card is not over 500 yet counting last years starts, I will watch it simply play out and if he wins fantastic. Duly note people have opinions counter to some ranters above here, bottom line the offense scored 3 points what is positive about that ? I also do not attack other commenters on this forum for said opinions they make, reason escapes many. Football is about W’s and L’s ! The jury in my opinion is still out on Kolb, let’s hope he proves me wrong. Toughness is one thing ( after being critiqued by a Raider not me) moving the ball into the end zone is the litmus test for any QB, to date the defense has bailed out both QB’s.

ah, reality sets in. the o line is pathetic,… kolb is a stud for handling the abuse but he can’t continue to be abused at this rate…. 17? sacks in the last 2 weeks, that’s absurd. the vaunted defense is not playing up to their standards and what up with peterson… he looks lost. thud indeed. reality bites.

It’s only one game. The team had to travel on a short week. I expected a win, but am not suprised by the outcome. It’s obvious the O-Line needs help along with the running game. I did not see the coaches making adjustments in this game. I’m confident the team will play better for the Buffalo game. It’s disappointing but its not the end of the season. We are still 4-1. If you asked any other team in the league, they would take that record after 5 games anyday. We got beat. The Rams were a better team last night. They are a tough win in St. Louis. Washington and Seattle have found that out already. They won’t beat up in Glendale. I hope to coaching staff can fix the problems. I have said time and time again that I am not crazy about our coaching staff, but they are what we have and we have to back them up as well. They need to get this figure out and figured out fast. The team looks like the miss Beanie and I can’t wait for Dockett to get healthy. I’m not a Beanie fan but I do miss his Power running. Buffalo is next up and they better look out. This should be a mad bunch of Cardinals on 10days rest, healthy and ready to show the fans and the rest of the league why they are 4-1.

BTW: I’m flying in from SFO to watch my very first game at UOP Stadium and I am extremely excited. LET’S GO CARDS !!!!

Is there any explanation given to why they’re not providing more help to Batiste and Massie (i.e. more two TE sets, or adding an extra lineman)? I can understand trying to stick them up against Quinn and Long to see how they’ll fare at the beginning of the game, but as the game drew on and the protection broke down faster and faster I think there’d need to be some better protection adjustments. It looked like the fourth quarter was about creating as many options for Kolb to throw to rather than giving him extra protection.

That has not come up. It happens some plays, but why it doesn’t happen more often, I don’t know. Later in the game, I know they want receivers in the pattern. Some of the pressure was coming when the Rams rushed four. If you keep 6 or 7 to block four, it makes it tough to find open guys.

We’re not going to last unless we fix our offensive line issues. Since Whisenhunt and Grimm have been with the Cards the line has never been very good. We need a serious infusion of talent. We can’t run well or pass protect and consequently we won’t go far in the postseason, assuming we even make it. I’m sure the coaching staff knows this, but why haven’t serious upgrades taken place since Whisenhunt’s tenure began? Maybe it’s time to oust Grimm and start drafting O linemen in the early rounds of the draft and targeting higher quality free agents instead of the bargain basement values we keep hoping will turn things around?

Darren- It’s not that we expect these Tackles to be better. We know what they are. It’s that we expect the STAFF to know what they are. It’s frustrating watching Whisenhunt and Miller continue to call plays that take 5 seconds to develop without giving the Tackles any help. The passing offense needs to be run with 3-step drops, quick slants and squats, with either 2 TE or a TE and a FB in max pro EVERY. SINGLE. PLAY. No exceptions. I know that takes a LOT of plays out of the scheme, but that’s the reality of the situation. And that is what is frustrating– the fact that Whisenhunt and Miller continue to run these complex, combo routes and keep these overmatched Tackles on an island, is INSANIT–Y and comes off as just sheer stubbornness.

The offense can’t protect past two weeks. Why no adjustment in the play calling as a result?
Why no accountability by Whiz or AZ beat writers?
You guys seem like opinion-less puppets for the organization.

Kolb has become a bright sport for this team…he is developing and when he has time can make the big time throws. Any qb will struggle when they get ripped play after play. Yet, I thought he held up well….Floyd’s drops are worrisome. Housler needs to catch that ball…and who’s to say Roberts wasn’t supposed to turn to the sidelines instead of inside…When it Kolb they say bad throw…If it was Rodgers or Brady they say miscommunitcation between QB and WR. The kid is unfairly ripped. He’s played better than Stafford, Big Ben, Vick, Manning and many others this year.
It is insulting to this kid that he is even put into a competition with Skelton who is inferior talent wise. NO disrespect to Skelton but he isn’t the talent Kolb is….Kolb came in last year.. traded to the cards…no real training camp and didn’t know the players or offense. He had some unfortunate injuries. Those things caused him to struggle more than anything and Whiz should have known that.

This kid is talented and tough….looks like a good leader too. He had to be the starter going forward…and in the offseason focus on the OL and Skill players and watch him grow even further.

Skelton comes back in and this season and several more are over. Kolb needs to be developed! He has the skill set. Now use this offseason to build the offense like they did the D.

Funny…I was thinking the same thing about facing the Vikings and wondering if Jared Allen would be injured that week (he’s just coming off an injury). Division games are always unlike other games and this time, I think we forgot that the NFC West is a pretty tough and exciting division this year…probably the most exciting in the NFL, so DUH…no surprises that the Rams came out with blood in their eyes.
Steve Jackson is one of the best in the NFL…same caliber player as Fitz…tough and unstoppable and seems to get better all the time. Just because he’s been around a number of years I think our young players must have considered him an old man and nonthreat. Sam Bradford has been good for a long time and hasn’t had the people around him to let him loose…plays like a young Kurt Warner. The Rams have upgraded a lot and aren’t the same team we’ve been playing and winning against obviously. They just gave the Hags a thrashing last week and we struggled against the Hags in opening week. This is one loss that we can learn and move on from. My concern is our RB situation…we seemed to have been going through em like kleenex and when the Rams had four on the field we had one? What happens when all of our RBs are in IR? When I think that Haley was even remotely a possibility for returning, it is frustrating. We have good coaches, good talent but we seem to have a problem with staying motivated when we are starting to pull ahead. We have been the Cardiac Cards forever, always seeming to need to be down to get going and while I use to find it exciting, it’s now just frustrating and stressful. We can’t seem to hang on to a lead whether it’s boredom or lack of stamina….we should have been better prepared for this after struggling so much with the Phins. I hang on to the thought that we beat the 9ers in their house and so I know we are capable of road wins against our divisional rivals…Seattle will be another tough one!

The only way someone can write something is ignorantly biased as you have either:
A: your last name is Skelton.
B. Kolb left you at the alter.
Either way, You are a moron.
Kolb did EXACTLY as instructed, DONT turn it over. I thought under the circumstances he played well. Not perfect, no, but I have yet to see a perfect game by an NFL QB.
O-line MAN that was ugly.
Problem is now after these last two weeks teams have a road map to beat us. With this line we have I think the only answer is two-minute type offense, shot gun every snap, some wildcat with Peterson and hope Kolb can make it through the season.

Nice article but rough game to watch for Kolb felt sorry for the guy. I’ve been critical of the guy, but your comments are right on about his toughness. You also have to credit him for not sitting on the sideline pouting or bumping his tackles like some other qb’s. He just got up and put his helmet on on spit out the blood and kept playing. I’m impressed even though he lost.

Looks like now they can wait on a qb in the draft this year and address the line issues and cb. What do you think Darren?

frankly to me the entire team just looked tired and slow, granted they both did but the rams didnt have to travel its alright though it was a tough loss on the road during a short week, we pick ourselves up and get prepared for the bills next

Hey guys who do not like other opinions and Kolb fanatics ( basically the same people who threw him under the bus last year and this summer). Look he has improved substantially but is a shotgun QB with a weak arm, ie quick strikes and hurry up offence which only lasts so long. If we win with Kolb great but I see other teams teeing off on the guy and figuring out the coverage for him. Obviously the Rams and Miami ( we escaped with a W) have figured something out. The fact that we are even having a debate here is moot as Skelton was the backup and actually won last year as in 6-2, Kolb 6-1 and he was this sites darling. Kolb must live up to the hype and has in Sept at 3-1 ( barely and bailed by the D), five games is not a season so wish him well.

I stand by my posts and if they seem not pro Kolb so be it, last year we threw away a season early and year prior with Anderson, let’s hope we continue with our early success in 2012. Bullying posts above lose instant credibility with me, toughness great but it must come with more than 3 points ( which we also had in the first half vs Miami). Reality is that STL left points on the board and humiliated the OL. Positive is that the Cards got ten days and are 4-1. Darren keep up the good work but expect feedback otherwise the blog becomes Putin like with vigilante comments as per above.

Re. below, thanks for manning up !

By Dynosoar on Oct 5, 2012 | Reply
Sarah,
I just re-read your post and you stated Kolb was performing well at getting the ball out at the start.
I apologize, I’m beggining to expect only negative in your posts and because of that I missed the positive in there.

By Eric Hutchins on Oct 5, 2012 | Reply
Sarah,
The only way someone can write something is ignorantly biased as you have either:
A: your last name is Skelton.
B. Kolb left you at the alter.
Either way, You are a moron.
Kolb did EXACTLY as instructed, DONT turn it over. I thought under the circumstances he played well. Not perfect, no, but I have yet to see a perfect game by an NFL QB.
O-line MAN that was ugly.
Problem is now after these last two weeks teams have a road map to beat us. With this line we have I think the only answer is two-minute type offense, shot gun every snap, some wildcat with Peterson and hope Kolb can make it through the season.

Seriously Eric think before typing and exposing your redneck side, Kolb had a good first half but left throws and catches on the field ( receiver drops). Fifth line, was Kolb ”instructed” to miss passes at times🙂 ? Go Fish.

At the end of your last post, “to date the defense has bailed out both QB’s.”

Thank you for at least finally acknowledging implicitly that our turnaround at the end of last season was not about switching from Kolb to Skelton. That is simply a function of the previous statement — the defense WASN’T there to bail out Kolb in the first half of 2011.

Mike in Mesa —

Simple answer is, even when Whiz announced Skelton was our starter, he pretty much made it clear that this was only for the SEA game, not a decision for the season. Which suggests that the competition was still close enough that things could change. Does it suck for Skelton that he got hurt in his first game after being named the starter? Sure… same thing happened to Kolb in Philly. But he hasn’t even been activated for a game yet. The coaching staff has NOT named Kolb the starter (although if they do, based on performance to date, no one should be surprised). Go back and look at the stat lines for Skelton in the 4 games after he took over because of Kolb’s turf toe and you will see why the job was still considered Kolb’s when he was ready to return vs. Dallas. Skelton’s first game was decent enough (20-35, 222 yards, although we only put 13 points on the board in regulation before PP won it). The next game, he had 3 TD passes but also 2 INT’s and was 21-40. That was followed by the SF disaster (6-19, 99 yards, 3 INT’s) and the STL disaster (12-23, 114 yards, 2 INT’s) in a game where we eked out a victory only because Beanie ran for franchise-record yardage. So altogether there, you have 59-117 (50.4%), 4 TD’s, 7 INT’s. Compare Kolb’s first 4 games this season taking over for Skelton and, well, there’s not really a comparison. The two situations aren’t really comparable.

Kolb missed some throws. It’s going to happen when you throw 50 times (often under pressure) ‘cuz the team can’t run.

Still, you have to acknowledge that even in this, his worst game so far this year, his final numbers (28-50, a 56% completion percentage even with some drops by our receivers, no INT’s) are not that bad. That completion percentage is better than in 6 of JS’s 9 games in 2011 and 2012 (I’ll give Skelton a pass for his 4 2010 starts, but none were above 56% then either) so Skelton has to be missing a lot of throws too.

I’ve tried to avoid the name-calling that some of the other posters are throwing at you, but simply asserting that Skelton has more upside, etc. does not make it so. Your lack of objectivity is obvious here.

1] Whiz needs to step in on the offense. Then, in the offseason, we can go out and hire somebody who can use our players to the FULLEST. RE:Big Ben is having the greatest offensive production since he’s been in the league. Why? Because he has Todd Haley for an OC. Maybe Jason Garrret if he is fired by the Cowboys. Just someone who would use the talent we have to it’s fullest extent.

2] Kevin Kolb needs to be traded at the end of the season for whatever draft picks we can get. You can’t have two QB’s, and John Skelton “instinctively” has the pocket presence that Kevin does not. And believe me when I tell you this: all the other Cardinals play better for skelton because they look over and see a 6′ 6″ QB that they believe can lead them to a win. kevin kolb is a “caretaker” for the offense, that’s all.

3] Whiz needs to look elsewhere for a RB. Sign Tim Hightower. It would be nice to have him line up on the left side. And the fumble issues ONLY started with the arrival of Beanie Wells. Or, if that doesn’t fly because of distrust between him and the Cardinals, look to trade a couple of late round draft picks and secure Jonathan Dwyer from the Pittsburgh Steelers, His first two years at GT he tore up the ACC Conf. in rushing yards, leading everybody by a mile! Then he was asked by Coach Paul Johnson to put on weight and become a fullback in their veer offense. He did, but entered the NFL Draft a year later, early. He’s been injured (not seriously though) and the Steelers go with one RB – Mendenhall. Dwyer would make an immediate impact, on 3rd (or 4th) and 1, and he does have “moves” to go with his strength. He also can stay in the backfield and block.

Give Dwyer a year with Coach Lott to help him get to the playing weight he would excel at. Then, we could trade Beanie (to Cinncy), in the state (OH) where he is universally beloved.

4] I mentioned earlier John Skelton. Darren, he has ONE basic movement in throwing the ball standing in the pocket that is wrong! ONE. It is the easiest thing to correct! It comes down to skelton being from Fordham, a small University.

skelton has the “IT” factor, kevin does not.

In fact, my son has the “IT” factor, but we live in an area where the Pop Warner football stinks to high heaven. So, I never put him in any place where he would learn to throw the ball (I had a stroke, and the one thing keeping me from throwing with him is “damage” to my right arm, going from elbow to hand. I’ve recovered enough to work on my hand now– can print readable big letters, but not enough to have the crucial thing of the throwing motion, the elbow movement. I could go through the whole throwing motion, but I won’t, here); but I waited, did a whole bunch of research, and came up with the BEST QB Camp there is for young boys to men–the NFA, run by Coach Darrin Slack. (www.quarterbackacademy.com). The very first camp we went to, it took Coach Slack ONLY 4 throws to hit perfectly in the hands of another Coach 50 yards away.

Anyway, the point is, my son has the athletic ability and a “spatial” learning system, that he will spend the next 5 months going through the videos, and practicing. He will be the QB for the team. Why? He could very easily play SS (where he has on JV–the opponents go away from him, and he still leads the team in tackles. He is relentless. But the shirt he always wears under his jersey says one thing, “sacrifice”, and he knows we don’t have another QB. THAT is what motivates him, plus being in the situation of of having the ball in his hands when it counts. I was that way, though at 5’4″ (my twin is 5’8′, father is 6’5″), in basketball. I ultimately turned down college scholarships to go to GT and major in Arch, and minor in City Planning.

So my son will “watch the DVDs” and then go out and throw it perfectly. [Just like I learned how to throw exactly like Dan Marino, by watching him on TV, and learned how to shoot, and many other things, by watching Duke and NC on TV]. Quickly. Now, my son’ll have to do a LOT of that–throwing the ball so he can handle throwing 3 games in 8 days.

But he will succeed. It’s in his nature to do so.

Sorry about the long post, Darren, but I just want you to know and understand that I know what I’m talking about, and be honest that it is not any kind of arrogance. Truthfully, I should have died, in two separate times, But I didn’t, and I am truly grateful to be alive. To my husband, who knew what to do, and more importantly, to the God of heaven and earth.

Thanks for all your hard work, Darren, I know how you put in the long hours, but football (really any sport) is important to life. So you are doing a great service with your commitment. And thanks for reading this long post.

Kevin Kolb has a weak arm??? What are you watching? That throw to Roberts in the Dolphin game was a laser beam. Sarah, I was wondering….Are you from Philly. Where you a Mcnabb fan??? Because your going after Kolb is hilarious. He has this team in first place…

The last two games he’s standing in there like a real man…getting killed for it and making some huge throws. Yeah he missed some every qb does…but he’s getting crushed yet making plays..If he would have comeback in the fourth…if Fitz gets in…then Doucet doesn’t have another laser beam go thru his hands in the endzone on the next drive..guess what?? Yeah, some of you still wouldn’t like it. LOL. Even tho that comeback would have been legendary..after that beating. The bloody mouth game instead to the bloody sock??

Hey Kolb…you won this guy over in the game you didn’t win. I’ll be rooting for you.

Looks like some of you need to show some respect. None of the above QB’s (who are league stars) have numbers any better than Kolb…yet, none of them have been beaten to hell like he has…and I say everyone of them has on the whole (Every play can’t be to Fitz) better skill players to work with.

These numbes speak louder than biased announcers (who called him a flop and now are trying to save face by pointing out all his mistakes and downplaying success) and they speak louder than fans who are doing the same. Bottom line is the kid in just his 20th start is showing he’s intelligent,tough as heck and has a big arm.

One question to ask….If we drafted a kid last year and he wasn’t named Kolb…and in this his 20th game had stats like this..all while getting the snot knocked out of him. Would we be running out buying his jersey or writing paragraphs long responses on how he missed an open fitz on one play out of five games??? Yeah, I thought so. And you sure as hell can bet Philly would think long and hard if you offered Kolb and the draftpicks back for VICK or DRC.

Blaming this loss on Kolb is ridiculous. Was he part of the problem, yes. The simple truth is that a Rookie Head Coach with the Miami Dolphins came up with a game plan that exposed every weakness the Cardinals had on Defense and Offense. His Rookie QB (in his 3rd start) lit up our “unstoppable” defense for over 400 yards. Kolb was sacked 8 times in that game. 9 times last night. The Dolphins showed the entire NFL how to beat us and every team has the video. Until the adjustments are made with the O-line, Running game, Defensive backs, etc… Well, it looks like the losing is not going to end here. Unfortunate.

I love Kolb his toughness the way he has handled the whole rollercoaster of getting a huge payday and being benched it its very telling of his character. That being said this was his loss I’m still holding hope that he can improve and i hope someone is being honest with him in the locker room. He cant be taking 8-9 yard sacks i know the offensive line was getting thrashed but he has a tendency to just tuck cause he doesn’t want a turnover. Yes its better to punt it away but third and 18 is a killer when its happening 4-5 times a game. That first drive Larry was WIDE open on a double move he threw his check down because it was safe we ended with three points he threw it behind a wide open housler and made j Jenkins look good on what was potentially a touchdown he missed roberts wide open and and missed larry wideopen a couple more times in second half because of pressure but he needs to learn to trust larry and throw it were he thinks larry will be and take an incomplete if hes wrong instead of a sack or a check down that three yards short every time. Kolb has great potential but is he improving thats what we need to be asking.

Just a month ago people were calling for Kolb’s head. It’s good to actually see that he’s won over some people. He’s made a lot of people, including the media, look stupid. I agree Darren. No questioning this guys toughness no more. He took a pounding last night (as well as in wk 4), but got up and still tried making plays. Kudos to him. He’s looked solid in my opinion this season so far. He’s not great, but he’s shown he can be a solid QB for this team and his toughness. the only thing left in my opinion that he needs to prove is his consistency over the course of a season. We won’t know until the season winds down.

@Sarah, you’re an idiot. You try to sound intelligent, but it’s making you look the opposite. No wonder people are all over you on this site, including Darren. You have no objectivity and that demonstrates your obvious stance against Kolb. It’s a TEAM game, and as FAN, you should be supporting ALL players regardless. There are fans that bashed on Kolb and wanted him gone, but they are actually good enough to admit now that he’s done enough to prove them wrong, or make them give him a chance, and those fans know who they are.

7/2 TD to INT ratio, 1041 yds, 89 rating, and 4-1 record through 5 games for a QB is solid to any reasonable fan. And FYI, they are Kolbs stat’s so far. Because it’s Kolb, you don’t like it. If it was Brees/Brady/Rodgers/Manning, or even Skelton for that matter you’d be glowing. Kolb doesn’t deserve all the credit for the wins by any means because this is a TEAM game (everyone has contributed), but he sure has contributed a great amount and deserves more credit than some would give him….Keep posting though, it’s actually entertaining

…”We got beat. The Rams were a better team last night. They are a tough win in St. Louis. Washington and Seattle have found that out already. They won’t beat up in Glendale…….”

I hope that you’re right. However, I doubt that Massie and Batiste will have improved significantly by the time that we play the Rams again and (Howie’s son)
Long and Givens will probably again give Kolb (or Skelton) another fierce beating. Nor do I think that Graves will pull a rabbit out of a hat by then.

Sarah,
Redneck? Really? I was born and raised in the Uniited State Virgin Islands (nice try)
Kolb told to throw incompletes.. Really, do you think that was what I was saying? Really? Did you watch the game? Have you watched ANY of them? The fact that he completed half as many under those kind of conditions and with the help of floyd dropping balls and Fitz quiting on the slant, was pretty amaxing IMO. My point, since you dont seem smart enough to understand was. Dont take chances with the ball, dont turn it over, play field position and rely on the defense. the fact that they could not RUN at all, and could not pass protect was what cost them the game.

I’ve learned that there is no point in posting numbers to prove your point to the Kolb haters. They don’t listen. They just talk about how Skelton has great potential, or pocket presence, or they just make up BS about how the team “responds” better to him or plays harder for him (or rumors about how they secretly want him to be the starter). We now have a guy telling us Skelton has a simple issue to correct and comparing his son going to some guy’s football camp to the Skelton situation. And, of course, the stuff about how he just “wins,” as proven by a small data sample from when our D finally showed up last year.

It got to the point where one of these guys (not Sarah, at least) was on this very blog after the SEA game saying we should be praising Skelton for his “high performance.” Skelton got some of the best protection our O-line has given this year and was 14-28 for 149 yards and an INT, and Kolb saved that game for us. But his fans, of course, will claim that, even though the offense was completely AWOL in the 2nd half of that game, Skelton would’ve brought us back as well, because he has the “it” factor.

I for one, would have liked to see more screens & draw plays called to slow down the Rams’ pass rush. Seemed liked the Cards lined up w/ 4 WRs every snap in the 4th q. I realize Williams was out, but put a TE back there. Do something different.

Ummmm how come Tentpeg107 is not being pistol whipped here for supporting Skelton🙂. My future views will be strictly on the games, I did get this thread going though !!

Weekend yes and will follow the SF game ! Darren go hit some golf balls or something ! All the Sarah haters here,…ummm do your wives and gf’s and lose the testosterone vis a vis hearing something counter to your own opinion.

” The last two games he’s standing in there like a real man” . Eric are you a real man too🙂 ? Real men eat quishe, numbers are worthless outside of contract talks, it is about winning the game and Kolb is vastly improved, long term is the unknown. Right now i am off for sushi !

People bash Kolb, look at the Rams #1 pick at QB (Bradford)…..LOL! 7 completions for the whole game…..that’s pretty sad. Our O-line flat out sucks balloon knots. Grimm needs to take a hike cuz his plan ain’t doin the trick. Lets get to the past few drafts, I couldn’t believe we took a WR in the 1st rd…….incredible. I’m been begging for offensive linemen like most of the fans, tired of the smoke and mirrors teams, we need the guts not the flash.

I think if we want to even have a shot at the playoffs this year Whiz needs to name a starter at QB and then trade the number 2 QB plus a draft pick for a blue chip offensive lineman. Contrary to some opinions, I do not think it really matters who Whiz names as his number one guy at QB. Lindley is capable at number two and Whiz can re-sign Bartell at #3.

Wow slow down boys get off her back she is entitled her opinion just the same as you look kolb has turned it around and is playing like a man and this a last game gave me even more faith in him he got up spitting blood and finished the game I was like wow I have missed judged this guy that being said you guys better pray that Skeltons ankle gets better bc the way this olines playing kolbs going to get hurt just a matter of time so sarah I would say to Skelton get ready your times coming . Myself I would like to see Jon get some more snaps just not at the cost of kolb gettin hurt Jon got the starting job and he should get to play what I didnt like was the way some kolb fans were almost happy Jon got hurt so kolb could play

Burt M
I felt the same way watching that, when you have defensive ends crashing in like that, why arent we sending fitz deep to clear it out and throwing screens in the space?
I am worried about our backs though, and maybe that was the problem, no Beanie no Williams no hyphen,,,,,, ugh
Sure would have loved to find some way to slow those ends down though.

And in general, Why is it when Kolb runs for his life people call him skittish and scared, and when he stands in and takes a beating people tell him to move?

I deliberately stayed away from this site, because i knew i was going to read nothing but negative comments regarding the loss and imparticularly the performance of Kolb.
I’m pleasently surprised to read many posts that are realistic and objective in their assessment regarding his play and the loss.

There is no such thing as a perfect QB. And thus you are NEVER going to see a perfectly played game. Regardless to the position a player, plays, they can only try to control their performance to the best of their ability given the circumstances at hand.

Sara, continues to say it’s not PERSONAL when it comes to her feelings of Kolb. Its hard for me to believe that , when she purposefully points out every flaw of the man in every game. Not once does she make any positive comment about anything he may have done to help secure the win. And he must be doing something positive for the team to be 4-1. But than it’s not Kolb but the team in those instances in her eyes. who get the credit. And it should be percieved as a team effort when they win, but also as a team non effort when they lose.

I”ve no doubt if John gets the start in the next game, the response from Sara will be entirely uplifting and praise worthy…even if he doesn’t play a single bit better than Kolb has.Some people just can’t see beyond their own bias.

In comparison of Kolb’s play to date , Vick has been in the NFL this being his 10th season Yet he is playing more like it’s his first or second. The rate of the turnovers he has comitted in the red zone imparticular this season has been alarming! Eight INT’s and 5 fumbles. And some of you are nit picking Kolbs performances? How would you guys feel knowing your seasoned vet of that duration was having that kind of turnover ratio?

did record the game but have yet to watch it. But now that I have read how much of a beating Kolb took I will make sure to view it. Because it sounds like no one would have survived that onslaught …not even Sara’s beloved JS.